**You must be at least 18 to play here. If you're not, please go away. If you are--come in, visit awhile. Join me in my sometimes effervescent musings as I try to make sense of this wonderful and crazy world of writing.**

Saturday, March 29, 2008

"Ms. Quinn's Jewel of Apthgar was enjoyable and well written. Quickly devoured and deeply satisfying it shouldn't be missed. All in all Jewel of Apthgar is a welcome addition to any Ebook collection." (Jenn L.)

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Reported in Publishers Weekly: There's a new Indiana law that requires bookstores to register with the government if they sell what is considered "sexually explicit materials." The new law, H.B. 1042, was signed by Governor Mitch Daniels on March 13 and calls for any bookseller that sells sexually explicit materials to register with the Secretary of State and provide a statement detailing the types of books to be sold. The Secretary of State must then identify those stores to local government officials and zoning boards. “Sexually explicit material” is defined as any product that is “harmful to minors” under existing law. There is a $250 registration fee. Failure to register is a misdemeanor.

American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) spokesman Chris Finan said the law is the only one of its kind currently on the books in the country. (But if it's successful, i.e., not repealed due to unconstitutionality, what d'ya wanna bet it won't be the last?) Calling it "clearly unconstitutional," Finan said ABFFE will urge the Media Coalition to challenge the law at the organization's next meeting on April 9. H.B. 1042 does not go into effect until July, by which time Finan is hopeful the lawsuit will be filed and an injunction issued by the court.

Hey, I'm all for protecting children against things they're too young to understand--there are some things those under at least the age of 16 (maybe even 18) shouldn't be exposed to, such as overt violence and sex. Of course, this bill only deals with sexual content, did you get that? Books/games/music that are overly violent (which could also be harmful to minors) aren't being singled out. And, anyway, isn't "policing" what children see their parents' jobs?

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Jessica Faust of Bookends, LLC has an interesting post on her blog today about what agents look for in books they think will sell. And it all correlates to what readers will buy. A few years ago chick lit (strong, snarky heroine) was all the rage and readers (not me, though) were scarfing these books up as fast as they could be published. A couple of years into this feeding frenzy, authors went, "Whoa! This is a really popular genre--I think *I'll* write a chick lit book." And the market gets glutted and readers get sick of seeing the same kind of book for sale month after month. Now editors are telling agents, "Don't send us chick lit. No one's buying it."

Monday, March 24, 2008

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,Desperate

============ ======

Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command: "http: I Thought You Loved Me.html" and try to download Tears 6.2, and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1.

Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta. Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources).

Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

After getting nailed by a Daisy Cutter, Osama bin Laden made his way to the pearly gates. There, he is greeted by George Washington. "How dare you attack the nation I helped conceive!" yells Mr. Washington, slapping Osama in the face.

Patrick Henry comes up from behind. "You wanted to end the Americans' liberty, so they gave you death!" Henry punches Osama on the nose.

James Madison comes up next, and says "This is why I allowed the Federal government to provide for the common defense!" He drops a large weight on Osama's knee.

Osama is subject to similar beatings from John Randolph of Roanoke, James Monroe, and 65 other people who have the same love for liberty and America. As he writhes on the ground, Thomas Jefferson picks him up and hurls him back toward the gate where he is to be judged.

As Osama awaits his journey to his final very hot destination, he screams, "This is not what I was promised!"

An angel replies, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you. What did you think I said?"

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

There's an author out there who is suing Romance Writers of America (RWA) for discrimination against small presses because she wasn't allowed to submit her book to a couple of chapter contests because her publisher is considered by RWA to be a vanity press. (RWA considers any publisher who charges the author in any way in the publication process to be a vanity press.) RWA doesn't consider vanity or self-publishing to be supportive of building a writer's career. (Because the author is forking over money and it's supposed to flow the other way--from the publisher *to* the author.)

In some ways I agree. But, in other ways...who cares? If the author manages to write a good book with appropriate editing, why not let him/her enter the book into a contest?

Because the publisher isn't on the "approved" list of publishers.

Well, here's this: For a member of RWA to be eligible to join their Published Author Network (PAN), they must show proof that they have either A) received at least $1,000 in an advance OR B) earned $1,000 in royalties on one book. ($500 for anthologies.) So...why not use that definition for "approved" publisher? Forget all this vanity and self-publishing crap.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

One of my Deliciously Naughty co-authors landed an agent yesterday. You can read December Quinn's story about it here. I'm so excited for her--it's a big deal getting an agent to begin with. It's a HUGE deal to get one with a house like she did: Ralph Vicinanza Ltd. (the house that reps Stephen King). That's not to say that another agent wouldn't be able to rep her appropriately, but to be able to start right off with such a gonga house...

Well, like I said, it's HUGE!

How did she do it? How did *I* do it when I went about my agent search? Neither one of us spent hundreds (or thousands) of dollars attending conferences and pitching our books to the agent of our choice. We did the following:

1) Wrote a good book and self-edited it to the bare bones.2) Had our critique partners go through it as ruthlessly as possible--so we could make it even better.3) Sent out query letters to several agents, finally getting brave enough to send that one letter out to the agent we *really* wanted.4) Hard work and serendipity equated the realization that we both ended up with agents who love our voice and are enthusiastic about our work.

There was method to our madness. I did my homework and I know she did hers--we did *not* send queries out to agents who clearly do not rep the type of book we wrote. We *did* send our queries to agents who already had clients who had written--and sold--the type of book we wrote.

If you want to write for a New York publisher, my strong recommendation is that you first secure an agent. They know the industry and, more importantly, they know the editors--who likes what, etc. And many publishing houses won't look at unsolicited manuscripts. Plus, once you do get an offer on your book, you want that agent on your side to vet the contract and get you the best deal.

Unless you like driving yourself crazy. And that's a subject for a whole 'nother post...

Friday, March 14, 2008

A blonde city girl marries a Colorado rancher. One morning, on his way out to check on the cows, the rancher says to Amy, "The insemination man is coming over to impregnate one of our cows today. I drove a nail into the 2 by 4 just above the cow's stall in the barn. You show him where the cow is when he gets here, OK?"

The rancher leaves for the fields. After a while, the artificial insemination man arrives and knocks on the front door.

Amy takes him down to the barn. They walk along the row of cows and when she sees the nail, she tells him, "This is the one...right here."

The man, assuming he is dealing with an airhead blonde, asks, "Tell me lady, cause I'm dying to know...how would YOU know this is the cow to be bred?"

"That's simple. By the nail over its stall," Amy explains very confidently.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

I've been asked many times what my process is for writing. I blogged before that I wrote over 500,000 words last year (and that's not including the verbiage here on my blog). And that's with working full-time up to August, and 30 hours a week after that. *And* being president of my local RWA chapter.

I'm not reporting this to toot my own horn (not totally, anyway. I mean... Hell. That's quite an accomplishment, ain't it?!?) but to share *how* I do it.

First of all, I have to say that I am driven. I want to make my writing career a success and so, for the time being, I am completely focused on being able to write. My early morning is spent answering emails and putting my blog up. Once I get home from work in the afternoon, I try to have my behind parked behind the computer no later than 4:30 p.m. I write until at least 7 p.m., sometimes later if I still have enough creative juice left.

When I get stuck, I switch gears to another project--I usually have at least two going on at one time, plus my blog story. If that doesn't work, I may take a day or two off because it just means I've blown a fuse and need to recharge.

Right now I have a dragon shifter novella in the works (about half-way done), and a full-length werewolf novel (just started, under 5,000 words written so far).

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Abby McNeil was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now her life is in danger. She is assigned a supernatural Protector--Damon Stratham. Damon's job: protect this innocent from harm while remaining invisible and unknown to her. But Abby's an extraordinary woman and Damon's not one to follow the rules.

Add a cranky archangel boss and a vampire Protector, and all sorts of mayhem ensues.

4 Stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews: "If paranormal adventure is a favorite of yours then you have to read this book. It's non-stop action and adventure with a huge dose of passion. Abby is a courageous heroine and her bravery will have readers cheering for her. Damon has a dark and sensual sexuality that will leave you breathless and panting for more. Love scenes are steamy and readers are sure to enjoy the couple’s explosive passion. Ms. Quinn has created a book full of paranormal adventure and it’s sure to be a keeper."

4 Angels from Fallen Angel Reviews: "Sherrill Quinn has woven a sensual tale telling how love conquers all. Redemption is a wonderful story about second chances and love. Ms. Quinn writes with great depth about how two people need each other and are willing to sacrifice everything for that love for each other. Redemption is a fantastic read."

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Today is going to be a short post. I have to leave for work earlier than normal because I have a day full of interviews--right now I have 5 positions open that I'm recruiting for. 5 may not sound like a lot, but for a company with under 90 employees, it's all relative, eh? 5 is 4 too many. LOL

I am a regular lurker at a couple of agent blogs and thought I'd point you in their direction (if you're a writer and/or interested).

First, Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown. His post yesterday was about query letters and how many really, really bad ones he's been getting lately--primarily from people he suspects won't research and learn how to craft a good query letter because, well, they think they know what they're doing, I guess.

Pub Rants, Kristen Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency's blog. Her post yesterday was a short "What's frustrating for agents" that I can relate to. She wrote that they will ask one of their clients (authors) to revise their manuscript *before* they (the agent) submit it, and the authors sometimes refuse to do so. This I don't get. The manuscript I sent to my agent went through two MAJOR revisions and...well, I can't say what's happening with it because I haven't signed on the dotted line yet. (If you read between the lines there, there's some mega good news I hope to share soon.)

Monday, March 03, 2008

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Here's yet another Deliciously Naughty release from one of my DN Writer pals:

In a dangerous new world where human fragility is a priceless commodity to brutal alien Dominanats, being a submissive can mean taking your life in your hands. The very idea makes alien ops agent Samantha's skin crawl. She's a woman in charge--in bed and out--and only fear for the life of her partner, Calen, could convince her to pretend otherwise.

When Calen goes undercover as an alien Dom in one of New York City's most violent S and M parlors, Samantha knows she has to folllow and pose as his submissive. For Calen, she'd risk anything, even discovering the lifestyle she thinks she abhors might actually be the stuff of her most wicked fantasies...